Pentagon research arm opens new push into radio-spectrum sensing

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold an Industry Day on September 30 in Arlington, Virginia, for a new program aimed at building next-generation electronic-support systems that can watch across wide swaths of the radio spectrum without needing to digitize and process every signal they detect.

The program is called BEAMERS, short for Beam-Space Analog Processing for Multifunctional Enhanced RF Systems. It falls under DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office and is run by program manager Dr. Stefano Galli. Companies interested in bidding on future BEAMERS work can register for the event through September 23 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Electronic-support systems are used to detect, locate and characterize radio frequency signals in the environment, a function that spans warning systems, situational awareness and sensing missions across different platforms. DARPA says these systems increasingly rely on “staring” architectures that continuously monitor wide bands of spectrum, which generates far more data than current hardware can practically digitize and process in full.

BEAMERS is built around a different approach. Instead of converting every beam, frequency channel and polarization output into digital data, the program wants systems that filter and reduce that information while it is still in analog form, then send only the signals worth digitizing downstream for processing. DARPA is looking for expertise in analog beamspace processing using lenses, gradient-index structures and phased-array-fed lenses, along with integrated radio frequency and microwave photonics, wideband channelization, and event detection.

The Industry Day will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Strategic Analysis Inc. Executive Conference Center on Wilson Boulevard, split into two parts. The bulk of the day will consist of government presentations classified at the SECRET level, open only to U.S. citizens holding a Department of Defense SECRET clearance or higher. Attendees must submit their clearance information through the Defense Information System for Security and present government-issued photo identification at the door.

A separate Industry Showcase Poster Session will follow at 3:30 p.m., held at the unclassified but controlled level. That portion is intended for small businesses and emerging companies to display posters and materials about their capabilities and network with other attendees and potential teaming partners.

DARPA capped attendance at 120 registrants, with no more than three representatives per organization. Foreign nationals who want to attend must submit a separate DARPA Form 60 and supporting documentation by the same September 23 deadline. There is no registration fee, and DARPA will not reimburse travel or other costs tied to the event.

The agency was explicit that showing up does not commit anyone to anything. Attendance is voluntary, and companies do not need to attend the Industry Day to submit proposals if DARPA later issues a formal solicitation tied to BEAMERS. No solicitation has been published yet, and the notice does not disclose a program budget, contract vehicle or expected timeline for follow-on work.